Few events can equal in excitement and sur- prise the publication of Carlos Castaneda’s new book—the culmination of his extra- ordinary initiation into the mysteries of sorcery. Castaneda’s triumphant and daring journey into the unknown has previously been re- corded in his three books, The Teachings of Don Juan, A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan. In this astonishing, luminous and terri- fying work, Carlos Castaneda at last completes the long journey into the world of sorcery that began with his now-legendary meeting with don Juan. Drawn back by the knowledge that the sorcerer’s task has not been completed, Castaneda returns to plumb the final, awe- some secrets of the sorcerer’s explanation of the world—to learn, in don Juan’s world and his own, the last lesson of a unique and ardu- ous apprenticeship. For until now don Juan has performed his acts of power in his world, the dry, barren deserts and mesas of his birth, a world in which he seems to exist as naturally as the chaparral and the rocks. Now, in an unexpected encounter, don Juan appears in Castaneda’s modern urban world, at ease in a (continued on back flap) Tales of Power By Carlos Castaneda TALES OF POWER Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan a separate reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan the teachings of don juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge Tales of Power BY CARLOS CASTANEDA HODDER AND STOUGHTON LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND • TORONTO Copyright © 1974 by Carlos Castaneda. First printed in Great Britain 1975. ISBN 0 340 20088 X. Reproduced from the original setting by arrangement with Simon and Schuster. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in Great Britain for Hodder and Stoughton Limited, St. Paul’s House, Warwick Lane, London EC4P 4AH, by Compton Printing Limited, Aylesbury. CONTENTS PART ONE A WITNESS TO ACTS OF POWER An Appointment with Knowledge 11 The Dreamer and the Dreamed 57 The Secret of the Luminous Beings 83 PART TWO THE TONAL AND THE NAGUAL Having to Believe 105 The Island of the Tonal 118 The Day of the Tonal 130 Shrinking the Tonal 147 In Nagual’s Time 163 The Whispering of the Nagual 180 The Wings of Perception 195 PART THREE THE SORCERERS’ EXPLANATION Three Witnesses to the Nagual 209 The Strategy of a Sorcerer 225 The Bubble of Perception 255 The Predilection of Two Warriors 272 5 The conditions of a solitary bird are five: The first, that it flies to the highest point; the second, that it does not suffer for company, not even of its own kind; the third, that it aims its beak to the skies; the fourth, that it does not have a definite color, the fifth, that it sings very softly. — San Juan de la Cruz, Dichos de Luz y Amor PART ONE A Witness to Acts of Power AN APPOINTMENT WITH KNOWLEDGE I had not seen don Juan for several months. It was the autumn of 1971. I had the certainty that he was at don Genaro’s house in central Mexico and made the necessary preparations for a six- or seven-day drive to visit him. On the second day of my journey, however, on an impulse, I stopped at don Juan’s place in Sonora in the midafternoon. I parked my car and walked a short distance to the house. To my surprise, I found him there. “Don Juan! I didn’t expect to find you here,” I said. He laughed; my surprise seemed to delight him. He was sitting on an empty milk crate by the front door. He appeared to have been waiting for me. There was an air of accomplishment in the ease with which he greeted me. He took off his hat and flourished it in a comi- cal gesture. Then he put it on again and gave me a military salute. He was leaning against the wall, sitting on the crate as if it were a saddle. “Sit down, sit down,” he said in a jovial tone. “Good to see you again.” “I was going to go all the way to central Mexico for nothing,” I said. “And then I would’ve had to drive back to Los Angeles. Find- ing you here has saved me days and days of driving.” “Somehow you would’ve found me,” he said in a mysterious tone, “but let’s say that you owe me the six days that you would’ve needed to get there, days which you should use in doing something more in- teresting than pressing down on the gas pedal of your car.” 11